American voters approve 48 - 43 percent of the job President Barack Obama is doing, up from a
negative 44 - 46 percent April 21, the first time since December that more voters give him a
thumbs up rather than thumbs down, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

But voters say 74 - 21 percent that the U.S. economy is in a recession now and
disapprove 50 - 44 percent of the way President Obama is handling the economy, the
independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University survey finds.

American voters also say 42 - 36 percent that they would vote for a Democrat rather than
a Republican in this year's Congressional elections, reversing a 44 - 39 percent Republican lead
March 24.

Obama's policies have hurt rather than helped their personal financial situation, voters say
29 - 16 percent, with 54 percent who say the policies have made no difference. Going forward,
voters expect Obama's policies to hurt rather than help them personally 36 - 28 percent, with 32
percent who expect no difference.

"The increase in President Barack Obama's job approval is a welcome step for the White
House. His ratings have been in the no man's land of just below parity for some time and now
the question is whether this is the beginning of an upward trend or just a blip," said Peter A.
Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University poll.

"The fact that three out of four American voters still see the nation in recession, despite
the claims from the so-called experts, highlights the disconnect between Wall Street, Washington
D.C.'s K St. and Main Street," said Brown.

"For Obama to get his job approval back over 50 percent, where the White House would
like to be, he needs to convince Joe and Jill Six-pack that his programs are helping them."

A total of 70 percent of American voters are "somewhat dissatisfied" or "very
dissatisfied" with the way things are going in the nation today. And 80 percent say the way
things are going makes them more likely to vote this November.

Looking at the Kagan nomination, voters split 43 - 43 percent on whether Senators
should consider her views on controversial issues, or just her qualifications for the Supreme
Court. But voters say 50 - 37 percent that Senators who disagree with Kagan's views would not
be justified using a filibuster to block her nomination.

Looking at other aspects of Obama's job performance, American voters:

Approve 48 - 43 percent of the way he is handling foreign policy;

Disapprove 51 - 44 percent of his handling of health care;

Approve 45 - 40 percent of his handling of Afghanistan;

Approve 49 - 41 percent of his handling of terrorism.

From May 19 - 24, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,914 registered voters nationwide
with a margin of error of +/- 2.2 percentage points.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public
opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio and the
nation as a public service and for research.
For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or
follow us on Twitter.

1. If the 2010 election for the U.S. House of Representatives were being held
today, would you vote for - the Republican candidate or the Democratic candidate
in your district?

15. Should Senators support or oppose Elena Kagan's nomination to the Supreme
Court based only on whether she is qualified to be a justice, or should they
also consider her views on controversial issues like abortion and gay marriage?

16. If Senators did not agree with Elena Kagan on controversial issues like
abortion and gay marriage, do you think they would be justified, or not
justified in using the filibuster to prevent her nomination from coming to a
vote?